The Sleeping Beauty

As soon as we take our seats, a spectacular custom made house curtain provides a window into The Sleeping Beauty kingdom, supplying a teaser for David McAllister's world premiere production. From the moment Orchestra Victoria commence Tchaikovsky's dynamic score, we're transfixed. McAllister's vision boasts meticulous attention to detail and the set design and costuming are next level. 

The corps de ballet is extremely well-rehearsed, so much so that when a pair of footmen stamps and they're not in unison, during the prologue, it's memorable. The audience gasps when beholding the sheer beauty of Scene 2, Act 1, The Palace Gardens, when courtiers clad in peppermint- and fairy floss-coloured finery brandish garlands and weave around the stage, perfectly spaced. Principal artist Lana Jones receives a rapturous reception when she appears as Princess Aurora and performs Marius Petipa's familiar choreography. At times, the choreography comes across as dated within the bounds of this invigorated production. Do we really need to applaud well-executed double pirouettes when we're used to seeing octuple turns?     

Act 2, between the evening's two intervals, seems very brief and then Act 3 feels too long. But no one is prepared for Chengwu Guo's technical virtuosity as Bluebird in the final act, particularly the control he displays when gradually slowing down mid-pirouette.

Traditional ballets are integral to all company repertoires and, while McAllister's The Sleeping Beauty reawakens this treasured classic, a few extra choreographic tweaks would serve to better showcase the immaculately adorned talent onstage.